


A world on your shoulders:

by justinsbuzz



Series: The end... [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Comfort, F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22044706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justinsbuzz/pseuds/justinsbuzz
Summary: Steven learns how to properly move forward, but not without a little help of some close friends and family members.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Greg Universe & Steven Universe, Pearl & Steven Universe, Priyanka Maheswaran & Pearl, Priyanka Maheswaran & Steven Universe
Series: The end... [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1509437
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	A world on your shoulders:

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah...I know...i already posted something today. but i really wanted to make sure people knew that this arc won't die so easily. Goes without saying that this AU is traveling further and further away from cannon. then again, it sometimes seems like the cannon is going further away from itself. Well, anyway. enjoy.

It had been nearly 2 months since the attack on Beach City. For a time, the people were slowly recuperating and rebuilding their homes, and their city at large. But a few weeks ago, when the word came down that an end was near, everything went into a standstill. Any reconstruction effort that had gone at a decent pace had all but halted. Rebuilding the Maheswaran’s home had gone from reconstructing, to recovering anything they could salvage. The family, both the Crystal Gems, and the Maheswaran’s sifted through the wreckage for anything near salvageable. A few cook books, most of a family photo album, with the later half melted by the ooze that crept through their house were somewhat salvaged, as well as a few wedding pictures of Doug, Priyanka, and their families. Doug’s family had brimming smiles of joy, while Priyanka’s side, apart from Priyanka herself, looked grim. Her father looked stoic, just like her. But her mother in law looked…empty. A vacuum of emotions. Steven began to feel colder than he was a moment ago, just by looking at that part of the picture.

“You feeling cold?” Priyanka asked, as she stood behind Steven, who was holding the wedding picture.

“It’s…the wind. Winter is here.” Steven said, trying to rationalize how he felt. Priyanka wasn’t buying it, as she reached over and took the picture that Steven was handing back.

“Ever since I was 11…I always had to wear a coat around her. Most likely a shawl.” Priyanka said, gazing deeper into the picture with disdain. “She was so…traditionally suffocating. It was one set of rules after another, after another. I swore that I would never end up like her. Cold. Miserable. But the way she raised me…I thought that’s how you raise your kids…she was wrong…I was wro-”

“You’re a great mom.” Steve said, interrupting Priyanka before she delved deep into depression and remorse. “You’re a great mom because you changed for the better. And if everything you say is true, then I don’t think you’re anything like her.”

Priyanka looked down at Steven, appreciating how he stopped her from dwelling on the past.

“You…you sound almost just like her, you know. Your mom.” Priyanka spoke, smiling slightly. Steven felt as though he was hit with a large, Sardonyx sized hammer. Priyanka noticed this, and began to backtrack. “That-that’s not to say you’re exactly like her. You…you are you, Steven. You should be proud of that. You have her compassion, but also have intuition, courage, dedication. You’re a product of your surroundings. Nurture over nature.”

“Thank…thank you.” Steven said, appreciating that she backtracked and empathized certain things. As he looked around, seeing some of the walls still standing. Half of the living room couch remained, and getting small flashbacks of all the times he and Connie sat together studying, reading, or just being there.

“Hey, Priya! Over here!” Amethyst shouted out to her from under a small pile of wood. 

Priyanka and Steven walked over to the pile when a large Purple Puma had emerged from the ruble, holding onto an ornate red box, no smaller than a large shoe box. Priyanka stopped at the sight of it. Her eyes fixated on it for a few moments before slowly moving forward with hesitation. Her hands slowly stretched out to retrieve the box from Amethysts large hands. She never blinked. Not even when she slowly opens the lid of it, ornate with golden geometric patterns. A small gust of wind nearly blew the box away when Amethyst gingerly catches it. At that moment, Steven sees what’s inside of the box that left Priyanka in a state of shock that was more intense than he had ever seen from Pearl. The box contained what looked to be a large, red cowl. The ornate edges were strangely familiar, but only before Steven remembered that it was part of a traditional wedding garment that she was wearing in the picture that hung from the wall of the living room. He looked up at Priyanka to see her eyes slowly welling up as she caressed the fabric. Instinctively, Steven wrapped an arm around Priyanka to comfort her. Amethyst place a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to console her. Doug and Greg came to see what the commotion was about, surrounding Priyanka with her box, in the middle of what used to be the Maheswaran residence, on that cold, autumn day.

That evening, and most of the next day, Priyanka was quiet. She conversed a little at the dinner table. She sat at the kitchen island with her tea the next morning. And at the office, she only murmured to herself the names of patients she had on file. Steven and Pearl were there as well, going through the files and sorting our who was still left in town and who wasn’t so it would all be on a secure server. No more paper work, especially with the declining population. As things turned stagnant with the news about an end coming, people left Beach City. Originally, the population was hovering around 50 after the Homeworld incident, and not counting the crystal gems, or Homeworld gems. But now, it had fallen to a paltry 28. About the same size as it used to be years ago. On one hand, it made things more manageable. Yet at the same time, seeing so many faces who he knew, just vanish caused the depression within to grow. The hole in his heart expanded ever so slightly after every name he put into the computer.

“Really thinking about it…The Diamonds might be wrong…” Steven spoke to himself, typing in another name and file info into the computer. Yellowtail. “I mean…They were wrong about a lot of things, and Sapphire’s can be wrong sometimes…I think.”

“Sapphires are notorious for their accuracy.” Pearl spoke, hearing Steven talking to himself. “The idea of an end to an entire universe though does seem preposterous. I mean, the universe is a vast place. Ultimately infinite.”

“Hrmm…true…but…ok. Lil’ help?” Priyanka grunted, trying to carry in a couple of boxes full of medical records. Steven rushed as fast as he could to pick up the boxes with one hand and gently set them down for a moment on the reception desk, but then decided to switch over to the ground in fear of the desk breaking.

“More files?” Pearl asked worryingly.

“I didn’t think there was this many people in Beach City.” Steven said staring at the other 10 boxes of files that haven’t been open. They’ve only gone through 2 of them.

“And I didn’t think you would be strong enough to pick those two up with one arm.” Priyanka said, looking amazed. “And I was lifting with my legs…huh…”

“It’s ok. They…they were kind of heavy…” Steven struggled to sound like he wasn’t as strong as he really was. Priyanka wasn’t buying it, and her face showed it.

“Man…38, and already a decrepit bag of bones.” Priyanka said woefully. “Yep, Priya, on the fast track of being an old crone…just like her…”

“You mean…your step mom?” Steven asked, looking almost as worried as Pearl. “Dr. Maheswaran, you’re not old. Far from it.”

“That’s right. Technically, at the age of 58, many humans are still active and healthy.” Pearl said with a smile.

“I said ‘38’!” Priyanka groaned, resting her head on Peedee Fryman’s folder. It may have gone against ethics, but Steven reading Peedee’s folder and the multiple close calls of heart attacks made Steven’s life look like a breeze.

‘how have I not died yet’ Steven briefly thought to himself before switching back to Priyanka.

“Actually, ma’am, it’s just some super strength powers I got from my mom.” Steven said. “It’s all part of the genetics stuff you and Pearl taught me. I got my dad’s talent for music and eyes, and I got my mom’s curly hair, super powers, and a ton of people who have been burned by her who wants to talk to me!”

At a sudden moment, Priyanka busted out laughing, after giving no attempt to stop herself. Pearl felt awkward about the thought of Pink Diamond, but Steven decided to chuckle as well. a person can either bottle it up, or laugh about it. Steven chose the rational route. 

“But it’s ok. Really.” Steven spoke, sounding empathetic. “And…honestly, maybe I can take care of the boxes, and you enter in the data? I don’t think I have the strength to do this. The emotional strength.”

“Oh…sure. But that was the last of the boxes though.” Priyanka said, causing Steven to feel depressed. “But I can take care of the data stuff. Technically, you’re not allowed to view patients records. Pearl and I got this. You can hang out until we need to load up the golf carts if you want, Steven.”

“Oh…Ok. Thank you. I… I didn’t think I can do one more memory…” Steve said without thinking about it.

No one knew exactly what he meant by it. Despite being mostly open, there were some things he wasn’t sure how to talk about. The recent months had weighed heavily on Steven. A weight that Steven can’t take on alone. Even if it was to sound awkward, he had to ask Priyanka.

“Pri- I mean, Dr. Maheswaran. Ma’am? Can I ask you something?” Steven asked, sounding nervous.

“Go on ahead.” Priyanka replied, getting started on a new file.

“How…how do you deal with telling someone bad news?” Steven asked, nervously. Priyanka paused for a moment and looked up at Steven.

“Um…come again?” Priyanka asked, looking confused. “Steven…is there something you want to tell me?”

“Well, it’s nothing new. It’s just about what happened a few months ago. I thought I would have softened the blow enough to put people at east. And now half the town is gone.” Steven answered, his voice shaking. “And it’s all my fault, mom.”

“It’s not your fault, Steven.” Priyanka said empathetically, overlooking the subconscious slip of maternal identity. “You softened the blow as well as you could have.”

“I…I don’t mean how I gave the bad news…but…how can I deal with the fact that I gave really bad news, and things just feel like they’re crumbling down around me.” Steven passively pleaded. “I…I know I shouldn’t feel bad. But I still do. I kind of feel helpless right about now.”

Priyanka sat there, looking stunned as to how Steven really felt. Pearl, on the other hand, latched onto him. Steven, at this point in his life, would normally be embarrassed. But for now, he hugged Pearl back as well.

“Yeah…I- I know what you mean, Steven.” Priyanka said, looking down at the keyboard. “I think it was 3 months after starting out at the hospital. Dr. West had a terminally ill patient die on him during surgery. The coward didn’t have the guts to tell the patients family that they had passed away. Guess who ended up getting their face slapped?”

“What?” Steven asked, looking shocked.

“Well…it was a routine procedure. Can’t talk about what kind of procedure, but it was the kind that anyone could do. A really simple operation, which requires the use of a technique that was idiot proof. Apparently, they never counted on Dr. West surviving med school.” Priyanka said with a deep look of distain in her eyes. “after the family marched away, and I ended up with a bruised cheek, that… that bastard slithered his way around the corner and said ‘whew, glad I didn’t have to do that. Thanks for taking the hit, babe’, and then waltzed away. I cried myself to sleep that night. Being a pawn for that creep.”

“Priyanka…” Steven muttered. “I…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought this up.”

“No Steven, you should have.” Priyanka and Pearl said in unison.

“Steven, it’s ok to talk about that stuff. It wouldn’t be healthy if you didn’t tell anyone.” Priyanka said, looking concerned.

“But…wouldn’t I be burdening you with problems I should be trying to solve myself?” Steven asked.

“We can take it, Steven. Don’t worry about us.” Pearl said, squeezing Steven tightly.

“But…no…you’re right.” Steven said. “I shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. So…help me. what do I do?”

“Honestly, time can only heal that pain of having to be the bearer of bad news.” Priyanka said, much to the dismay of Steven.

“Ho…how…That doesn’t help.” Steven said in disbelief.

“It gives you the set time of when it will pass. It’s up to you if you want to hold on to it, or learn to let it go.” Priyanka spoke, clarifying what she said earlier. “It also never hurts to just practice self-care. Spend an entire day being honest, drink plenty of water, relax, listen to music, hang out with Lion, heal yourself before others.”

“So… basically… Ignore everything I had done and pretend nothing bad is happening?” Steven asked, feeling unsure of what anyone was saying. Pearl and Priyanka looked at each other, and then back at Steven, also feeling like nothing is making any sense. It was a difficult topic.

“Actually…I won’t lie to you, Steven.” Priyanka began, feeling very concerned about how she’s handling this. “best thing you can do is live on. Keep pressing forward, but staying connected with one another. Touch base with friends. Talk about your problems. There is no real straight forward definition of self-care apart from the things your doctor, AKA: me, have been telling you. Survive, and know that you got people around you.”

“O- okay.” Steven replied.

“And also, you did the best you could with telling people how things are going to be changing big time in Beach City.” Pearl said, still hugging Steven. “you didn’t just drop the news and walked away, you helped people process things the best you can.”

“But…won’t people still need me? or even when things are better…what will I do? What CAN I do?” Steven asked out loud.

“Survive for now, we can take care of ourselves. We may be human, but we survived this long without going extinct.” Priyanka said with a smirk. “You and Connie still have homeschool to contend with, so you have that to focus on.”

“By the way, we’ll be going back to schedule soon.” Pearl said, giving Steven a bit of relief to know that there will be some things that are going to stay the same. “We’ll be doing some more field trips and Test prepping. We may also get a few new Students soon, now that Lars is back.”

Steven began to have thoughts of Lars being in the same living room with Connie and himself, just being very disinterested in the subjects, having feet up on tables, just being the bad apple. Then again, Lars could surprise them.

“Things will be O.K., Steven. Things will change, but it will be ok.” Priyanka said, smiling at Steven before going back to work.

After a few hours, Steven helped load up the golf cart, loaned out from the city, and made their way to the beach, where they had planned on safely disposing the confidential records, by way of a beach fire pit. The sun had begun to set once the golf cart arrived at the beach. The winds have died down immensely. For this time of year, this was kind of an unusual thing. But for this sole purpose of what the small group of people needed to get done, it couldn’t have come at a better time. The cart drove onto the sand, and near a large hole, where a few people were shoveling dirt out of. Deep enough to accommodate the number of boxes that needed to be disposed of. It took them all day to compile all of the data and put it in the small server, but it felt like a lifetime. Looking through the files. Faces. Names. People Steven never got the chance to really meet.

A head poked out of the hole. Someone with large, cream colored hair, and a couple of spikes pointing out of it. Jaspers eyebrows raised momentarily before turning to the others.

“Hey, they’re here.” Jasper alerted the others in the raspy voice that once struck fear into Steven. other heads poked their way up to see Steven, Pearl, and Priyanka getting out of the cart. “So, big enough for all of the boxes?”

“Yeah. It’s perfect, Jasper.” Steven replied. “Thank you.”

“Meh, I was bored. Didn’t feel like moping today.” Jasper said, climbing out of the hole. “So…I kind of have you to thank, Steven.”

“Um…sorry…a little help, Jasper?” a familiar voice spoke from the hole. “Or, Steven? Can you help your old man out?”

“I got you, Greg!” Jasper said as she reached down and lifted Greg up by his sweatshirt as though he weighed nothing at all, and then gently placed him on the ground.

“Thanks, Jasper.” Greg said before being hugged by Steven. “Whoa, Steven, you ok?”

“Um… Yeah, dad. Just a long day is all.” Steven said, remembering the conversations he had with Pearl and Priyanka. “I’m ok.”

Greg, although being worried, mussed up Stevens hair a bit, leaving some sand on his head. Steven knew, but he didn’t mind.

“Eh…a few more down here” Said another voice. As Steven looked into the hole, he saw 3 other people: Doug, Connie, and Lars. 

Greg helped Doug out of the hole without trying to fall back in. Jasper, trying her best to not fling Lars into the sky, gently plucked him up from the ground like a dried leaf. Steven, on the other hand, grabbed Connie by the hand, and then flung her up into the sky. Steven then followed after her, caught her, and gently landed back onto the ground.

“Um, yeah, nice touchdown, but can I please know why no one took the ladder?” the familiar voice of Amethyst spoke, but the origin wasn’t found. All that remained in the hole was a wooden ladder that had a shade of purple to it. It was at this point that people weren’t phased by talking inanimate objects anymore, as Steven pulled out the ladder, which on closer inspection, had lips on it.

“Sometimes, Amethyst, I’m surprised that people don’t appreciate how ‘supportive’ you are.” Steven said, pointing two finger-guns at Amethyst and winking.

“What can I say? I try to elevate people to higher rungs in life.” Amethyst replied, reforming to her old self and pointing finger-guns back at Steven. The collective group tried their best to keep their groans to themselves, most of all Greg and Doug.

“I’ve heard of dad jokes being terrible, but, where does that put this?” Doug whispered to Greg, who is wiping away a tear and nodding his head.

“This is what successful parenting looks like, Doug.” Greg said with an intense sense of pride in his son’s comedic prowess. 

As the sun sank lower on the horizon, Steven, Jasper, Greg, and Amethyst helped placed the boxes and some drift wood together into the pit in a way that makes sure everything gets destroyed. And as the sun fully sets on that cold winter evening, the firepit was lit aflame, burning brightly in the dark. The medical records of all 50 of the inhabitants of Beach city as of the time before Spinel, were burning brightly. The flames licked the sky like small creatures lapping up water from the morning dew. Seeing as this was an opportunity not meant to be missed, Steven made sure he brought his cheeseburger backpack with him that had enough bags of marshmallows and sticks for everyone to use. At the same time though, he had two items that once held deep, significant value to Steven at one point in time. But now, he needed to heal. And as everyone else gathered around the fire to roast marshmallows, Steven lead the crystal gems away from the group for a quick word.

“Guys…” Steven started, trying not to hesitate or back out. “I…I know that I need to move on. My mom’s mistakes are my mom’s, and my mom’s alone. I think we can agree on that.”

The crystal Gems, and Greg, nodded their heads solemnly. Steven then reached into his bag and pulled out two video cassette tapes. One of them titled “To Nora”, and the other one titled “To Steven”.

“My mom made these messages for me…but I feel like this was her way of passing on all of her problems onto me. I’ve felt like these Tapes were just my mom’s way of saying that my problem is now your problem…but I might be wrong.”

“Steven, I think that the messages on those tapes might just be her letting you know that she’ll always be around.” Garnet said, walking towards Steven and placing a hand on his head. “I know she could be cryptic at times, but sometimes, you might have to take things at face value.”

“Garnet’s right, Steven. Your mom never wanted you to have to deal with her problems and mistakes.” Pearl told Steven. In the past, Pearl always had tears in her eyes whenever she talked about Rose. But now, they looked serene. “And in the past…I know we put pressure on you to be exactly like her. We were wrong to do that. You’re Steven. And whatever your mom did, that’s not your problem. Right now, your problem is paragraph structures on some of your essays. And there were a few times you didn’t punctuate a-”

Amethyst cleared her throat loudly, cutting Pearl off from what she was saying, and then tried to get things back on track.

“What I mean to say is that…she want’s you to know that she loves you no matter what. You don’t inherit anything more than her gem and nose. Nothing more.”

“you’re…right. I suppose.” Steven said, looking down at the pair of tapes, but also looking at the firepit. “I…honestly felt like burning these things would break me away from her. Absolving me of her wrongdoings. But… there was no real wrongdoings, is there. At least none that I really inherited.”

“Steven…after the rebellion, Rose did everything in her power to try to set the wrong things right. 5000 years of roaming the earth, helping humans, bubbling corrupted gems, making sure the planet remained as safe and as beautiful as possible.” Garnet said, taking off her glasses and looking at Steven with all three shimmering, empathetic eyes. “But…we understand if you need to…get rid of them.”

“Actually…I do. Just not like that. I’m not sure what to do or say.” Steven said, looking worried.

“I can take them off your hands, Steven.” Greg said, putting a hand on Steven. “I know what you’re feeling about your mom right now is complicated, but someday, you might want these back again. Your kids might want to know what their grandma sounded like.”

“Well…I also digitized the tapes as well. Cleaned it up too, edited the tone of the colors. It actually looks like it’s better quality.” Steven said, thinking about the long nights of working on editing the videos. “But…for sentimental purposes…I’ll give them to you.”

“Thanks, schtew-ball.” Greg said as Steven handed the tapes over to his dad, as well as the flash drive containing the edited versions. 

“No, guys. Thank you.” Steven replied, but only before hearing a voice coming from the bonfire area.

“HEY Steven!” Connie called out to him. “Get over here and get in on this animal byproduct and corn syrup stuff! Jasper already had, like 20, and she’s looking for more!”

“Oh, come on, Connie!” Jasper roared. “I just want one more of these things!”

“You ate an entire bag of marshmallows! BAG AND ALL!” Connie roared back with a few people laughing in the crowd. “Also, Sadie called! She’s bringing a ton of hot chocolate! Now get them biscuit buns over here and help your knight defend the last few bags of marshmallows!”

Steven wiped away a few tears of joy as he and his family walked back to the fire pit. Things will be ok…

**Author's Note:**

> This was something that took a couple of months to finish, and kind of crunched it in the end. Happy new years...let's hope cannon Steven get's some therapy...


End file.
